Republicans just cut lifesaving care — again

By Lauren Necochea
Reader Contributor

When someone’s health fails or a child is born with a disability, families step up. They cancel plans, quit jobs and do what needs to be done. But even the strongest families need help. For decades, Idaho Medicaid has been one way we show up for each other.

Now, Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Congress are dismantling it. On July 15, Idaho eliminated paid family caregiving for people with disabilities. This lifeline helped fill a gap the state still refuses to fix. Direct support workers — paid just $11-$15 an hour through Medicaid-funded providers — are nearly impossible to find. Families wait months for support. In rural areas, there may be no service providers available.

Paid family caregiving offered a practical option: allowing parents and spouses to provide daily, skilled care with modest pay.

Parents like Justin Buell in Idaho Falls are now left in the lurch. His 7-year-old daughter, Araya, is nonverbal and lives with a rare digestive condition. Thanks to this program, he gave her the stable, expert care she needed. Without it, he’s left choosing between her safety and his family’s survival.

In Boise, Jordy Skye faces the same nightmare. Her son has autism and needs one-on-one care. Without this program, Jordy doesn’t know how her family will stay afloat or what will happen to her son if they can’t.

Across Idaho, families face impossible choices. Take a job only to lose it when the outside caregiver falls through? Risk medical mistakes from constant worker churn? Or institutionalize a loved one, knowing it’s isolating, less safe and more expensive for taxpayers?

Meanwhile, Gov. Brad Little is pointing fingers. After an outpouring of outrage from families losing care, he’s blaming the Legislature. But his director of Health and Welfare led the charge to shut it down. 

Little’s administration justified the decision with claims of misuse. However, instead of instituting oversight that should have been in place from the outset, they decided to leave every participating family high and dry. Meanwhile, they’ve done nothing to address the underlying crisis: Professional direct care workers are vastly underpaid and very hard to find.

Worse, more damage is on the horizon.

Last month, Republicans in Congress passed $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts. In Idaho, more than 20,000 people rely on services like in-home nursing, physical therapy and behavioral health care. These services, and more, are now at risk.

There is always time to do the right thing. Little can call a special session. Republican lawmakers can restore paid family caregiving. They can ensure that direct support workers earn a decent wage, training and benefits. They can protect Medicaid from further sabotage and finally fix the crisis they helped create. If they won’t, we must vote them out.

Lauren Necochea is chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and a former District 19 legislator. Necochea spent a decade leading nonprofit programs dedicated to research and advocacy in tax policy, health care and children’s issues.